Renting at 80 rather than owning a home

OP, I agree. I did sell my condo 2 years ago and moved to an apartment in a walkable area. I would add to those considering rentals: determine who the property manager is and their reputation among renters. Some are not responsive, others provide good service and manage the community so everyone knows expectations. The property manager does all technical maintenance: change a light bulb - even in the oven, replace a poorly working shower valve, etc., along with daily cleaning of entrances, weekly cleaning of hallways.

In a major metropolitan area, the property manager is the one who matters, not the building owner. I chose this place because it provides a nice sized space for above median cost, appeals to families and professionals. The amenities appeal to children but there are many retirees living here as well.
 
Five years ago, I sold my house and bought a condo. It’s extremely easy living as I’m only responsible for the inside. All our systems are central so I don’t even have a furnace or air-conditioning unit to replace.

I did not want to rent for a few different reasons. One is that I didn’t want to ever have to move again and rents here are very high and go up every year. It’s much cheaper for me to own a condo.

The other reason is that my living environment is very important to me and I wanted to be able to remodel to suit myself. Obviously, I can’t do that in an apartment. five years later I’m very happy with my choice.
 
Once in a whle I think about if my spouse goes before I do, which is quite likely as he is 14 years older than me, that I may sell our home to move closer to my son if he does not move here. The dilemma is whether to buy a home if I can convince him to move in with me, or if not, I may simply move to a senior living place so that he does not need to sell a home after I pass away. Making it easier for him is really my only consideration. On the other hand, I should also consider my own quality of life and I am very happy living here.
 
AudiDudi said:
I have a good friend in his mid/late 70's that sold his house about 4 yrs ago and the moved into a 55+ complex in NW Washington. Sold the house for mid 600k and is now paying close to $3k/mo for rent - 2 bd with a den. I suspect the $600k+ invested for dividends is covering his rent with a bit left over. I doubt he ever moves again.
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If you know of a secure investment in which $600K can generate $3000 a month going forward, please let me know! :)
 
planuntilthefisthits said:
If you know of a secure investment in which $600K can generate $3000 a month going forward, please let me know! :)
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Golden Mean said:
FWIW, 7% annually (typical equity market returns over decades) gets you $42k. 3k x 12 = 36k.
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Golden Mean said:
FWIW, 7% annually (typical equity market returns over decades) gets you $42k. 3k x 12 = 36k.
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Easy peasy. Look at the PIMCO CEFs and NEOS ETFs and other such ... currently have a 10-12% dependable yield. Much more info in the "Active Investing" sub-forum here. Also see the YouTube channel "Armchair Income".
--- Frank
 
We sold our home in a +55 MHP a few years ago. We moved in to an apartment by the beach and are very happy with it.
Our combined SS and pensions more than cover the rent, so we are in a good place.
We have an elevator (no steps) which is a plus at age 80+.
 
Could never consider renting. Just not for me. In fact, just purchased the house next door. Not exactly my vision of my perfect retirement home at age 79. But my neighbor came down with poor health in the blink of an eye and sold it at a steep discount. My worry was if I didn’t buy it, an investor would and turn it into a rental. The prospect of kids and dogs running loose and barking next door would have driven me batty. The house will just sit there, water turned off. I now have more privacy and garage space. I will hire someone to maintain the yard.
 
planuntilthefisthits said:
Sure, in the long-term that can be expected. But if someone needs to pay their rent and the market crashes, what then?
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I'll leave the math to you, but I think it would probably work out just fine. Market crashes don't last forever and your only spending $3k of your portfolio per month on rent. I wasn't suggesting one would only have the $600k available to pay rent.
 
We are blessed to both own and rent. We own our condo in the Islands - no external maintenance for us. We also rent the family homestead on the Mainland (now from our son - used to be from our niece and before that was from ourselves, and before that it was from my parents - heh, heh, it's complicated).

We sold our final SFH in '07. Never want to do that again - especially at 79.
 
My 87 year old mom sold her house when she was 79. Best decision ever. She moved into the apartment building I live in and rents now so no longer has to bother with stairs, home insurance, driving, upkeep costs, snow plowing, blackouts, etc. I'm an elevator ride away to help her with TV issues, computer issues, taking her to dr appointments., etc Another big relief is not worrying about her as before she was 50 miles away. Big win all around.
 
My DM & step-father moved into a 3-tier retirement complex. First tier is regular 2 bdrm apts in a high rise with no assistance provided. Second tier is a 2 bdrm single story town home where some assistance is provided. Third tier is single floor 1 bdrm apts where complete assistance is provided. Residents typically start in the first tier and move to other tiers as the assistance increases. They also have a special memory unit for those suffering from dementia (they both had to pass a memory test before their application was accepted).

They paid a rather hefty one-price upfront cost for everything. Complex provides meals and activities. It's a very nice place to live. They moved in 10 years ago when DM was 70 (step-father was 80) and are still in the tier one apts. However, my DM was recently diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's and they will be relocating to a tier 2 apt before end of year. For what they paid, it's a great deal, but that one-time upfront cost is nearly 3 times what it was 10 years ago. It's provided a tremendous peace of mind for me and siblings that they are both going to be well cared for until the end.
 
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FREE866 said:
My 87 year old mom sold her house when she was 79. Best decision ever. She moved into the apartment building I live in and rents now so no longer has to bother with stairs, home insurance, driving, upkeep costs, snow plowing, blackouts, etc. I'm an elevator ride away to help her with TV issues, computer issues, taking her to dr appointments., etc Another big relief is not worrying about her as before she was 50 miles away. Big win all around.
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We aren't quite that close but my mom moved from 30 minutes away in another state to 3 miles down the street from us. It is far easier to keep on top of things as you said. TV, computer, appointments, grocery shopping, etc.
 
Former long-term owner here, now a renter... but a full generation younger than the OP.

I failed at home ownership. Paid it off quickly, but really struggled with maintenance/repair. The house was incorrectly built... and I was unable/unwilling to remedy it. This was in the Midwest, before most of the pandemic-boom, and so, cumulative appreciation was paltry. I sold at a loss.

Presently I live in a VHCOL area, and rent, not because I inherently desire to do so, or am forced to do so on account of advanced age, but from a mix of.... (1) it makes financial sense, (2) I'm not settled in the now metro area, (3) I'm scarred and traumatized by prior house-ownership, and (4) not sure regarding responsibility and risk/reward. However, the intention is to hire-out maintenance/repair if I reach an advanced age, where personally doing so, becomes impossible. The intent is that if ultimately I do buy a house, then it becomes the final abode, meaning that one gets literally carried-out of the front door on a gurney.
 
Rob said:
I enjoyed reading all of your replies. I appreciate your perspectives. I will move on to renting sometime in the next year. There are some very nice apartment complexes both over 55 and for all ages. I just need to be sure that the complex has a good reputation and will have no chance of being sold. Thank you again for your replies.
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I can see the attraction of renting with less responsibilities but are you OK with shared walls coming from a single family home? My MIL lived in an apartment and we were always reminded of why we are glad we have a single family home when visiting her. Some of her neighbors liked to do their laundry at odd hours of the night and one neighbor above her sounded like they were playing fetch or something with what sounded like a large dog running around up there.
Have you considered renting or owning something like a patio home or duet with one shared wall where the exterior maintenance and landscaping are included in the HOA fee? I think they are built where they share a roof but there is some airspace between the shared walls for a little sound deading. This would be my ideal set up. Something like this with a greatroom floorplan and just a small patio with no yardwork.

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JohnnyPHX said:
I can see the attraction of renting with responsibilities but are you OK with shared walls coming from a single family home? My MIL lived in an apartment and we were always reminded of why we are glad we have a single family home when visiting her. Some of her neighbors liked to do their laundry at odd hours of the night and one neighbor above her sounded like they were playing fetch or something with what sounded like a large dog running around up there.
Have you considered renting or owning something like a patio home or duet with one shared wall where the exterior maintenance and landscaping are included in the HOA fee? I think they are built where they share a roof but there is some airspace between the shared walls for a little sound deading. This would be my ideal set up. Something like this with a greatroom floorplan and just a small patio with no yardwork.
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We're all different. That's a beautiful place but a lot to take care of just inside (for us). Also, the "trick" with shared walls/floors/ceilings is to have strong/enforced rules. YMMV
 
JohnnyPHX said:
My MIL lived in an apartment and we were always reminded of why we are glad we have a single family home when visiting her. Some of her neighbors liked to do their laundry at odd hours of the night and one neighbor above her sounded like they were playing fetch or something with what sounded like a large dog running around up there.
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That really depends on the setting. My mom is in a senior apartment building. Nobody there is running around at any hour of the day. The building does permit small dogs but nothing large enough to hear in other apartments except for the very rare bark in the hallway. Laundry room is on the first floor nowhere near any apartments. And the building is solid, concrete and cinder block construction. You can't hear anything. My mom's hearing isn't great anyway :).
 
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disneysteve said:
That really depends on the setting. My mom is in a senior apartment building. Nobody there is running around at any hour of the day. The building does permit small dogs but nothing large enough to hear in other apartments except for the very rare bark in the hallway. Laundry room is on the first floor nowhere near any apartments. And the building is solid, concrete and cinder block construction. You can't hear anything. My mom's hearing isn't great anyway :).
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This is good to know. One thing that has been holding me back in this is I realized that, for the most part, all those old-timers I will b locked up with will be by-and-large the same demographic I went to school with, the same I lived in a barracks with, the same I lived in other apartments with over the years. IOW: Too noisy. Too rude Hopefully they've matured out
 
When my husband's aunt and uncle were in their 70s, they moved to a 55+ apartment building with activities. His uncle said the new place was like "being at a resort every day." He particularly enjoyed the lack of house and yard maintenance. They continued to do all of their pre-move activities; same church, same YMCA, same parks and grocery store. His aunt still lives there. She has friends, card games and there's always someone who will take her to the store or church now that she no longer drives.
 
This unit is similar to our condo. This is a duplex and our's is a four plex. We have the same floor plan but share two walls because we are in a middle unit. We like it for a number of reasons, but relevant to this discussion, we like the layout. It has an upstairs, but the master BR, laundry and the main living area is on the 1st floor. If we can't get upstairs, it would not matter, though we do like that space as long as we're able. We are responsible for the internal maintenance of the unit (basically, the paint in). We don't have any external yard work or building maintenance. I think it's a great situation and hope it will suite us until we are around 80 (10 to 15 years). Then, I certainly would consider moving to a rental situation or at least something where we're not responsible for any maintenance. I appreciate discussions like this because I don't want to become my parents (rip) that were hell bent on not leaving their home long after it was ideal for their needs and abilities. If we don't start this conversation and give this though until later in life, we're far more likely to be set in our ways.

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@Rob, the only thing I have to add is, Don't Settle.
if you really don't want a step, don't compromise there for other reasons.
<rant on> it is easy to build without a single porch step, and the $$ rules the design and you end up with TWO! </rant off:>
 
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